La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

My wife and I recently returned to La Conner after a ten-year absence while she directed the Alternative Program for Neah Bay High and Middle Schools, and I served on the community hospital board. Desperately needing a break from herding cardboard boxes of stuff that appeared to be breeding in our new home, we snuck over to the final sales day at the Library Thrift Store in early July. What a wonderful way to meet new, happy people. They called themselves “Friends of the Library,” and indeed they were that day and have valiantly been for some time.

As they explained, ground will soon be broken for a new library on the very ground where the Thrift Store has made miracles selling neighbors cast off lamps, furniture, and yes, books day after cheerful day. The energy of these dedicated volunteers provided the spirit and a considerable amount of cash to what will soon be La Conner’s shiny new center of the printed word in all its various forms in our technology infused world.

There was however one sad note. It was clear that these Friends enjoyed their “work” and the opportunity to be together devoting their time and creative energy to the noble cause of giving birth to a new institution in their community. Their pride was palpable. There is no doubt those folks, those friends, will be there when the doors open, ringing bells and sharing carrot cake. Like godparents, the Friends have a significant interest and a sense of responsibility for this new being and how it gets on in our community.

With pride and a deep sense of loss, they told me there did not appear to be a vital role for the Friends of the Library in the new institution. They remarked how much they would miss the camaraderie of sorting and pricing treasures … together. They would miss the personal sharing. And they would miss the purpose, the sense of making a difference.

These Friends are an invaluable treasure to the new library. I urge the library leadership to celebrate these Friends and keep them as close as possible. There will be new programs, beyond the fiscal and physical budgets. There always are. These folks have demonstrated their devotion.

Don’t let them drift away.

Jerry George

La Conner